Beauty and the Shark
by MWolfL
Summary: Lenny is to be the next Don, causing him a problem: fangirls. Desperately needing a vacation from it, Lenny secretly visits the West Side and meets a non-fangirl. But little does he know, she has a secret of her own... LennyXOC and slight OscarXAngie
1. The First Wedding

A.N. I have read a couple stories that give Lenny a girlfriend, one being a loose parody of Romeo and Juliet and the other slightly resembling Disney's Hercules. This inspired me to write my own loose parody with Lenny finding true love. This loose parody will be based on the main lesson of Disney's Beauty and the Beast: true beauty comes from within. There will not be an enchantress, a curse, nor enchanted objects. However, there will be a new character who will be considered ugly by most of the population, and two new characters who will take on the role of Gaston: only wants to marry the protagonist for selfish reasons, is physically attractive with a lousy personality, and will be in conflict with the one considered ugly. The chapter titles, with some exceptions, will also resemble songs from Beauty and the Beast, either by song title or by lyric. The parts of the title resembling songs I'll mark with ''.

It was the year after the truce between reef fish and sharks. Oscar and Angie married a few months ago, which was a lucky thing because Oscar was so nervous about proposing that Angie became worried it would never happen. Either that, or she would have to propose to him, which she also worried about since she knew that he would prefer doing the proposing. Fortunately, Lenny was able to persuade Oscar into proposing:

"Come on Oscar, you've gotta propose sometime." Lenny rolled his eyes.

"Aw hey come on man, don't rush me." Oscar freaked. "I can't handle the pressure!"

Lenny was grateful that they were in his room instead of at the Whale Wash. He'd hate to imagine Oscar ruining the machinery with his freaking out. At least Lenny had nothing really expensive laying about.

"What pressure? The pressure of delaying the proposal? Cause there's an easy way to..." Lenny replied dryly.

"I mean the pressure of Angie's reaction!" Oscar interrupted, still freaking. "What if she dumps me man...?"

"Uh, hello, did Angie fall in love with you first or did you fall in love with her first?" Lenny raised an eyebrow.

"Well she...she fell in love with me first." Oscar started to calm down, feeling a little dumb. "Okay, you've got a point..."

"And here's another: she remained in love with you even after you turned rich and famous for something you didn't do and almost ended up with another fish." Lenny added.

"Okay, okay, you don't need to remind me of that mistake." Oscar winced.

Fortunately, Lola gave up on Oscar since there were other fish in the sea...literally in this case.

Also fortunately, Oscar gained the courage he needed and proposed to Angie. She accepted right on the spot. As expected, Lenny was the best man. Also expected, Lola was the only sea creature not allowed at the wedding. But this story isn't about Oscar and Angie so much as it is about another character: Lenny Lino. So, on with the story...


	2. Lenny's 'Provincial Problem'

A.N. Provincial in this case means 'narrow-minded'.

Another day at the Whale Wash was done, and all the workers were preparing to leave. Soon the only ones left were Sykes, Oscar, Angie, and Lenny.

"Hey Sykes, my brother from another mother, you done yet?" Oscar asked, greeting Sykes at his desk. "Lenny invited Angie and I to the sharks' restaurant and he says you're welcome to come if you're not too busy." He added as they did Oscar's special fin-shake.

"Sorry Oscar, but I am." Sykes smiled apologetically. "The accounts need straightening out."

Even though Oscar and Sykes were now partners, Sykes always handled the financial part of the business while Oscar stuck with customer and employee relations. Considering Oscar's past mistakes with money this was not a surprising arrangement.

"Ouch, too bad." Oscar's smile dropped. "Hey, maybe next time huh?"

"Wouldn't miss it, unless the accounts somehow...hey, you haven't been trying any more of your...?" Sykes glared at Oscar suspiciously.

"Wha-? Aw hey man are you kidding?" Oscar raised his fins defensively. "I've gotten an upgrade in my job, a wife, and good friends I don't need any get-rich-quick schemes anymore."

"Just checking, you know how old habits die hard...I can vouch for that." Sykes muttered, remembering his species unfortunate habit of puffing up.

"Yeah, well, no denying your species you know?" Oscar smiled sympathetically. "Remember, your ancestors used that to avoid getting eaten."

"I know, but it's not effective on sharks and they're the ones we used to worry about most." Sykes shrugged, looking over a piece of paper.

"Heh, considering that they'd even eat a suit of armor or a porcupine - your terrestrial cousin - that's not surprising." Oscar chuckled, remembering asking Lenny about sharks' eating habits months ago.

"Yeah but neither a porcupine or a suit of armor was called into Don Lino's office before." Sykes frowned, either studying the paper hard or remembering the last time he was called into Don Lino's office for business before the truce.

"Yeah, I empathize with you." Oscar nodded. "Well, hate to chat and swim but can't keep Angie and Lenny waiting."

"No problem, see you at work tomorrow." Sykes looked up and waved.

"Bye." Oscar waved back before leaving.

He soon caught up with Angie outside the Whale Wash but was confused that Lenny wasn't in sight.

"Sykes's too busy?" Angie guessed knowingly.

"Yeah, poor guy has some accounts to straighten." Oscar nodded. "Otherwise he would love to come...hey, where's our veggie bud?"

"No idea, he was right by me but then he disappeared...uh-oh, I think I just found out why." Angie frowned, looking past Oscar.

"Wha-oh geez." Oscar groaned after looking behind him.

There were female sharks not to far away from them, all prettied up and looking around for someone. No guesses who.

"*Psst.*"

Confused, Oscar and Angie looked around until they saw Lenny hiding behind the building that housed Angie's office.

"Can you guys help me out? I'm tired of these girls fawning after me." Lenny whispered.

"No problem honey." Angie smiled. "So Oscar, what's the plan?"

"Whoa, hey, why do I have to come up with the plan?" Oscar frowned.

"Well who else is good at telling lies?" Angie grinned teasingly.

"Yeah, ha-ha, very funny." Oscar smirked back. "FYI, you're smarter than me so you should come up with the plan."

"I'm smarter than you?" Angie replied, still teasing. "Wow, didn't expect that high a compliment."

"Hey, weren't you the one who was always against my get-rich-quick schemes? Not to mention you were against my lying to everyone about being a Sharkslayer. Sorry I had to learn why the hard way for both." Oscar said sincerely.

Angie just smiled and kissed Oscar on the cheek. Lenny looked a little sad at that point.

"Okay, here's the plan: I'll try to talk the girls into doing some shopping with me, while Lenny sneaks away behind them." Angie said. "Okay with you?"

"Great, I guess Oscar is coming with me to do any necessary slaying?" Lenny smirked.

"Man why can't people lay off with that?" Oscar rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Aw come on Oscar, sure it was a bad idea but in the long run your lie turned out to be a good thing." Lenny smiled. "I'm mean look where it got us."

"True, but actually I'll be going with you to avoid the girl talk." Oscar corrected, grimacing dramatically afterward.

Both amused and annoyed, Angie gave Oscar a playful jab in the arm while Lenny laughed. Angie then swam towards the girl sharks, who recognized her as Oscar's wife so they greeted her pleasantly. Oscar and Lenny, keeping low to the floor, swam around the interior of the Whale Wash and sneakily swam behind the girl sharks. It worked for a few minutes, until the girls sharks became suspicious of why Angie was insisting so much on shopping. One then noticed Lenny...

"Hey! We've been tricked!" She cried out.

"Uh-oh, hang on Oscar!" Lenny ordered.

Oscar grabbed onto Lenny's dorsal fin tightly, so tightly that his body was wrapped around it. This was because Lenny was one of the fastest swimmers in the ocean, so when you're riding him you've really gotta hang on. Lenny zoomed ahead as the girl sharks tried to catch up with him. Angie, meanwhile, swam for the Titanic where the sharks live. Fortunately, Lenny was able to lose the girl sharks by hiding in the seaweed - where he met Oscar for the second time - and after the girl sharks were out of sight he and Oscar quickly swam for the restaurant in the Titanic, where they found Don Lino and Angie waiting for them at Lino's usual booth (Angie didn't want to be late so she asked a passing orca for a lift). Lenny and Oscar quickly sat down at the booth, exhausted.

"Are you two okay?" Don Lino asked, concerned.

Since they were still a little out of breath, Angie answered for them:

"Some of Lenny's fan girls were waiting for us."

"Some? More like an overcrowded school!" Oscar corrected.

Angie chuckled, knowing that Oscar was just exaggerating, but Don Lino looked sympathetically at Lenny.

"I went through the same thing when I was your age." He said, placing a fin on Lenny's shoulder.

"Really?" Lenny half-smiled. "Then you know that they only want to be with me because I'm the next Don."

"Yup, luckily your mother was an old friend of mine so I knew that she loved me for me." Don Lino said a little sadly.

Lenny nodded sadly. Back when Lenny was a kid his and Frankie's mother was killed by shark hunters. It was such a tragic moment that for two months Frankie didn't even make fun of Lenny much less hit him, which was very rare. Usually the only time Frankie refrained from teasing or hitting Lenny was on Lenny's birthday and on Christmas.

"Say, dad?" Lenny said. "I was wondering if I could take some time off for a much needed vacation."

"Of course, I heard the West Side is pleasant to visit." Don Lino smiled.

"Say, how about your best friends joining you? If it's okay with Angie that is." Oscar suggested.

"Sure, I'd love to check out the West Side." Angie smiled.

"And I'd love for you guys to come, I could use the company since I'm sometimes shy." Lenny smiled.

"It's settled then." Don Lino nodded, before adding: "Considering the problem with the girl sharks I think leaving as early as possible, say tomorrow morning, would be best."

"Well, I'm not fond of waking up early but anything for my best bud." Oscar shrugged.

"I'll personally set the alarm clock and get Oscar here myself." Angie smirked.

"Then I'd better get to bed early tonight." Oscar smirked back.

"Since it's okay with Oscar and Angie I'm all for leaving early tomorrow. How about six?" Lenny suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Angie smiled as Don Lino nodded.

"That settles it: I'm getting into bed at nine tonight." Oscar rolled his eyes.

Don Lino, Lenny, and Angie chuckled.

After dinner, Angie and Oscar went home and Angie called Sykes to tell them about tomorrow. Sykes agreed to let Angie and Oscar go with Lenny despite needing the help. Angie did deserve a vacation, and Sykes knew that Lenny and Oscar were tight. The only condition was that they couldn't stay away longer than a week. Angie and Oscar agreed.


	3. Shark Meets 'Bella' Shark Tricks Bullies

The next morning, it took some work getting Oscar to the Titanic, but Angie managed it. Oscar of course really wanted to go with Lenny, so the only problem was keeping him awake. This was easily solved by two mugs of coffee - or whatever they use for coffee - which woke up Oscar long enough for him to build up his own alertness. Luckily, Lenny picked the right time to leave, for there wasn't another shark in sight save for Don Lino, who of course just wanted to say good-bye.

After saying their good-byes, Lenny, Oscar and Angie swam for the West Side. On the way Oscar told Lenny about his and Angie's limited vacation time, which Lenny was okay with since he knew how much Sykes needed Angie (the jellyfish weren't really good at the secretary job as you probably remember). After arriving at the West Side they immediately headed for a hotel, an expensive one since Lenny was treating. Even Oscar was a little awkward about Lenny's gesture but Lenny insisted, after all it was Lenny's vacation. Since they traveled a long way the three of them rested for a few hours before exploring. Oscar and Angie went to the shopping and entertainment district, while Lenny headed for the park. He stopped to grab a seaweed dog from a hot dog stand, and ate it while swimming through the park's path. Minutes later, and after finishing his seaweed dog, he saw a group of male bully sharks picking on a female shark by playing keep away with her bag, apparently her lunch bag. Frowning, Lenny snuck around and grabbed the lunch bag from one of the bullies. Startled, the bully turned around while the other bullies diverted their attention to Lenny.

"What's the big idea chubby?" The bully in front of Lenny, apparently the leader, glared.

"Well why are you picking on her?" Lenny glared back, ignoring the insult.

"Because she's a freak, she won't even touch a shrimp!" Another bully retorted.

Lenny was stunned, if he translated that right that meant that the female shark was a vegetarian!

"Well, I don't touch shrimp either." Lenny smirked. "And for your information, the proper description for that is not freak, but **vegetarian**."

The bullies were taken aback, while the female shark dropped her mouth open. Obviously they didn't expect to ever meet another vegetarian shark.

"Now, are you going to leave her alone, or am I gonna have to wear you out?" Lenny crossed his fins.

"Ha! Like you could ever beat us up! Get him boys!" The leader ordered.

Lenny just smirked before swimming away, this was exactly what he was expecting. You see, by 'wear you out' he meant out-swimming them, not outfighting them. The bullies were a little stunned at first by Lenny's speed, but recovered and angrily pursued him. They never stood a chance, Lenny already had a good head start and they had no hope of catching up with him, especially not after he started swimming amongst the coral trees. They soon lost him, giving him the opportunity to swim back to the female shark. He saw another male shark with her, but due to his older appearance and the fact that the female shark was smiling at him Lenny guessed that he was a relative, probably her father.

"Here's your lunch back miss." Lenny smiled, handing the female shark the bag.

"Thank you, that was very kind and brave of you." The female shark smiled.

Here Lenny was able to get a good look at her, and found out that she was slightly overweight - though not as much as him - had blue eyes, and had braces. Lenny ignored the braces and continued smiling.

"Well, not really that brave, I knew that those bullies had no idea of my speed so I had an advantage anyway." Lenny shrugged modestly.

"Still, there's no denying that it was kind." The older male shark smiled, holding out a fin. "And I'm friends with anyone who's that kind to my daughter."

"Oh, I'm kind with everyone." Lenny shook the dad's fin. "Especially those who are mistreated."

"So, what's your name?" The female shark asked.

"Lenny, yours?"

"Carina."

"Beautiful name." Lenny blushed slightly.

"I like yours too." Carina blushed slightly back.

At that point the bullies found Lenny, but swam away with fright upon noticing Carina's dad.

"I'm guessing your dad is a bigshot around here." Lenny noticed.

"Yes, he's one of the West Side Don's main hit-sharks." Carina explained.

Her dad almost opened his mouth as if to correct her, but shut it upon realizing why she lied. You see, Carina's dad actually was the Don himself! That meant Carina had her share of flirting guys as well as bullies. Her dad as well as Carina disliked the flirting guys, because he knew that they only flirted with Carina because of her position of being his heir.

"So, you're probably wondering about the braces?" Carina tilted her head, ashamed.

You see, teeth are highly regarded among sharks. After all, teeth are their main weapon so if they are even slightly off they're considered very unattractive - unlike humans who have figured out how to make their braces attractive.

"Accidentally hit a cliff side mouth first?" Lenny guessed.

"No, I was born needing them." Carina said sadly.

"Oh." Lenny nodded sympathetically. "Well no matter, I always believed that what's in the inside is worth more than what's on the outside. Personally, I think you're a really nice shark and that's whats more important."

Carina and her dad were stunned, no one had ever said anything like that to her before! Mostly, the guy sharks who flirted with her overdid the compliments about her appearance, causing her and her dad to realize that they were fake. But now here was a guy who sincerely said that he cared more about personality than anything else.

"Really? How can you tell I'm a nice shark?" Carina cocked her head, confused since they had only met a few minutes ago.

"Well for one thing, you have a nice smile." Lenny smiled.

Carina blushed.

"Despite the braces?" Carina double-checked.

"With the braces without the braces, doesn't matter." Lenny corrected. "I'm talking about the personality that shows through the smile."

Carina's dad smiled, finally a guy who seemed right for his daughter.

"So, Carina told me that you're also a vegetarian." He said.

"Yeah, truthfully I thought I was the only one." Lenny nodded.

"We thought the same thing about Carina." Carina's dad chuckled.

"So, Lenny, is this your first time at the West Side?" Carina asked.

"Yup, I'm here on vacation." Lenny nodded.

"Then I'd be honored to give you a tour." Carina smiled.

"I'd be delighted." Lenny smiled back.

After saying good-bye to Carina's dad, whose name was discovered to be Alfonso Scuro, Lenny and Carina left.

A.N. Don Lino's first name is Ercole. Alfonso means 'noble and ready', Scuro means 'dark' or 'shutter', and Ercole is Italian for 'Hercules'. Carina means 'beloved'. Frankie was a nickname for Francesco and Lenny is a nickname for Leonardo.

Lenny and Carina had a great time swimming all around the West Side. They even went to a movie together, since Lenny wanted to watch the new movie "Swimming Stripes", about a sea-zebra (it's a real species, but it's actually called a zebra seahorse) who wanted to be a racing seahorse. Carina was interested in it too, so she agreed to see it with him. They later swam into Oscar and Angie, who liked Carina right away. They were also surprised to find that Carina is a vegetarian, and Carina was surprised to find that Lenny was able to make a couple fish friends so easily. She always had a little trouble, since fish have a natural fear of sharks. Lenny and Oscar took turns telling Carina the story of how they met, purposely leaving out the part of Lenny's dad being the Don of the South Side. Angie spoke up now and then too with her own perspective on the plot, especially at the part where she first admitted her feelings for Oscar. Carina was amazed about the whole situation, even though the whole Sharkslayer thing was broadcasted on the news she didn't really pay attention to it so she didn't know much about it. She just knew that as long as she and her family stayed below the radar they would be safe from the Sharkslayer. Then, when it was discovered that the Sharkslayer was a fake, she and her family just dropped the whole matter.

By the time it was dinner, Alfonso showed up and invited them to dinner as a thank you for Lenny standing up for Carina earlier. Alfonso and Oscar and Angie got to know each other over dinner, and soon became friends. They also got to know Carina's kid brother Mozart (Alfonso is a huge fan of the musician), who they quickly became friends with. After dinner they then said their good-byes, with Lenny and Carina promising to see each other the next day.

Both groups were happy about the situation, for Carina and Lenny each found someone who could love them for them, but there was one group who wasn't happy at all. The group was mostly made up of the bullies of course, but there was one other shark in the group who wasn't part of the bullies, even though he was secretly talking to them in a sunken shark hunting ship outside the West Side...

"You idiots!" This lone shark, a physically handsome shark named Adolfo gnashed his teeth in anger. "You were supposed to let **me** save Carina from you! Was that so hard to follow?"

"Hey look Adolfo, we had no idea that this other shark would show up, or that he was a fast swimmer." The leader of the bullies retorted defensively.

"Even so, you'll get no payment from me." Adolfo glared before swimming away. "Great," He muttered to himself. "Now I'll have to think of some other way of charming Carina and Don Scuro. I'll admit Carina is no looker, in fact she's one of the ugliest sharks I have ever known, but her heritage does make her attractive. I swear, I will win her and become the next Don of the West Side."


	4. The First Shark 'Gaston'

As they and Oscar and Angie continued hanging out, Lenny and Carina bonded increasingly. They also bonded progressively with Mozart, Lenny even became like a big brother to him. After a week Oscar and Angie had to head home, but after Carina heard why she understood. Besides, she still had Lenny to hang out with and she was really happy about that. So was Lenny, he was really glad to meet a girl who wasn't superficial or prejudiced. Unknowingly, she and Lenny were falling in love.

The week after Oscar and Angie left is when trouble began to start, for as you recall Adolfo was not going to give up that easily. One day, Carina was waiting for Lenny to show up so that they could have lunch together, when she was suddenly pulled into an alley! It was Adolfo, who kissed her before she could even make a sound. At that point Lenny, who had temporarily gotten lost, showed up and saw Adolfo and Carina kissing. At this point you've probably guessed Adolfo's plan: he was tricking Lenny into thinking that either Carina was a two-timer or that she was already taken. However, it did not work out like that.

"Hey! Un-fin her!" Lenny glared, gently pulling Carina away. "What do you think you're doing you jerk?" He then snapped.

"Wha-" Adolfo was taken aback, he expected Lenny to either become sad and leave or become angry at Carina, not become angry at him! "What are you talking about, why do you think I'm a jerk?"

"Because only a jerk would force a girl to kiss him in an alley...or force her to kiss him at all for that matter." Lenny frowned.

"But...what if it was Carina kissing me?" Adolfo crossed his fins defensively.

"Oh please," Lenny rolled his eyes. "If she did want to kiss you she wouldn't have looked disgusted when you kissed her."

Adolfo dropped his mouth open.

"Yeah, busted." Lenny smirked. "You see bub, I've become quite an expert at reading emotions. Now amscray before I wear you out!"

Since Adolfo learned from the bullies what Lenny means when he says that he didn't waste time to argue. He would've fought Lenny, but they were near a populated area and he already saw one of the Don's hit-sharks coming so he knew it would be pointless. He quickly disappeared down the alley.

"Are you okay Carina?" The hit-shark asked.

"Thanks to Lenny." Carina smiled. "Though I'm going to need a drink to get that jerk's taste out of my mouth."

"As long as you're not hurt." The hit-shark smiled before swimming away. "Well, I'd better be getting back to work. I'll let the Don know what happened so that he can deal with that guy later."

Don Scuro already told the hit-sharks about keeping his real occupation a secret around Lenny.

"Say, who was that?" Lenny asked.

"His name is Adolfo." Carina shrugged. "He was the most popular guy at my school. No idea why he has suddenly taken an interest in me, he practically treated me like garbage when we were teens."

"Maybe he's wondering why you never showed any interest in him." Lenny suggested. "When I was a teen I noticed that popular sharks can be offended by anyone not liking them."

"Wow, you really are observant." Carina smiled, impressed.

"Yeah, I wasn't much of a big shot around school either so I trained myself into looking out for danger. That led to me becoming observant about other subjects as well." Lenny shrugged. "Interestingly, it also unintentionally helped me with schoolwork. I didn't even find out until I was told that I was among the top graduates."

"Cool, I was a pretty good student myself." Carina said as they swam towards the restaurant. "I didn't have much of a social life so I stuck with my studies. I even had time for extracurricular activities, something the popular girls never got into - unless you count shopping or gossiping."

Lenny chuckled.

"So, what activities did you do?" Lenny asked.

"Well, I tried out various programs until I realized that I loved singing and dancing." Carina continued. "I turned out to be a really good singer, though I never got the hang of dancing expertly."

"Well, I'm a pretty good dancer, and I learned some tips from Oscar who's an amazing dancer." Lenny though over. "Maybe we can help you out later."

"I'd love that." Carina smiled.

As Lenny smiled back, both he and Carina's hearts fluttered. It was obvious that it wasn't just dancing Lenny and Carina loved. And this time, they both realized what they were feeling for each other, though they had yet to know of the other's feelings. Both Lenny and Carina were happy, there were times when they thought that they would never find someone. But here they were together, true loves or so they hoped. Lenny was doubly sure, due to his observing skills he had learned what real love and fake love look like on the outside and when he looked in the mirror of the restaurant's lobby he realized that his face resembled those who were feeling real love. Carina wasn't as sure, though she knew that she loved Lenny more than just about anything else in the world. However, there was one other emotion they were both feeling: worry. Understandably, they both worried about their secret of being heirs of Dons revealed and how their loved one would react to it.

As the days passed there wasn't a single sign of Adolfo, who figured it would be best to go into hiding until the alley incident was forgotten. Lenny and Carina ended up forgetting it, due to having more pleasant things to think about, but it took a long time for Don Scuro to forget it.


	5. The Second Shark 'Gaston'

By the end of the third week Lenny started to feel a little guilty for staying away for so long - especially since his dad had recently started to teach him the ways of being a Don - so when he and Carina were swimming though the park he told her about returning home. Carina wasn't happy, but she understood. Lenny then got the idea to give Carina a tour of the South Side. Carina liked the idea, but knew that she had to ask her dad first.

"Okay, you go ask your dad while I pack." Lenny smiled. "Meet me near the edge of town in the southernly direction."

"Okay, see you again soon!" Carina called back as she swam for home.

Lenny happily started packing, believing that she would be allowed to come without any trouble. Now while this might sound too optimistic, it turned out to be even better than Lenny expected: Don Scuro allowed Carina to stay at the South Side for three weeks! This was so that she could get to know Lenny's home as well as he got to know her home. You see, Alfonso wanted Lenny and Carina to end up together, so he was indirectly pushing it a little.

Carina immediately packed and met up with Lenny to tell him the great news. Lenny of course was ecstatic.

When they arrived, Lenny swam into the Titanic to talk to his dad. Before leaving the hotel he had already let Don Lino, Oscar and Angie know that he was coming so Oscar and Angie were already outside the Titanic. This meant that Carina, Oscar, and Angie ended up having a pleasant conversation before even realizing that Lenny had left. When they did Oscar assumed that Lenny really wanted to greet his dad so they shrugged it off.

This turned out to be partly true. Of course Lenny really wanted to see his dad again, but also he had an important detail to take care of:

"Hi dad!" Lenny smiled, swimming into Don Lino's office.

"Lenny!" Don Lino said happily, going over to Lenny to hug him. "How was your vacation?"

"Wonderful pop, the West Side is fun, at least for vacations." Lenny hugged Ercole back. "But that's not the half of it: I met someone!"

"You finally found a girl? Who is she?" Ercole asked, excited.

"She's the daughter of one of the Don's hit-sharks." Lenny explained. "She's wonderful! She loves to sing and dance, is really friendly and kind, and she's even a vegetarian!"

"Wha-you're kidding!" Ercole was shocked.

"No, it turns out I'm not the only vegetarian shark after all." Lenny grinned. "But that's not even the best part: she doesn't know that I'm the son of a Don, so she likes me for me!"

"Son, that's...that's wonderful." Ercole smiled, though becoming less excited.

"Anything wrong pop?" Lenny asked, concerned.

"No, I'm just...stunned." Ercole explained. "I mean, she sounds perfect...maybe too..."

"Hold it pop, I forgot to mention one unimportant yet unique detail about her: she wears braces."

"'Braces'?" Ercole repeated, almost a little horrified. "Did the poor thing have a bad accident?"

"No, she was born needing them."

"Oh, okay." Ercole relaxed a little. "Normally braces would be a big problem due to them hindering a shark's hunting ability but since she's a vegetarian like you it can be disregarded."

"*Phew!* Thanks pop." Lenny smiled.

"So, where is the lucky girl?" Ercole winked.

"Pop, please, we're not dating yet." Lenny blushed.

"'Yet'?" Ercole smiled knowingly.

"Okay," Lenny blushed even further before admitting: "I am in love with her."

"So tell her." Ercole continued smiling.

"Whoa, not yet." Lenny raised his fins to indicate a pause. "We've only known each other for three weeks. Besides, I want her to get to know the South Side first."

"Good idea, sorry son I guess I got a little overeager."

"It's okay, I'm a little excited too." Lenny smiled. "I'm not going to wait too long anyway I just want the right moment to come up first."

"Like a romantic evening or a moment alone at the park?" Ercole guessed.

"Preferably evening, we don't have much of a park compared to the West Side's." Lenny nodded.

"How about I set up a dance to welcome your return and to greet our guest?" Ercole suggested.

"Sounds great, but don't set it up too soon." Lenny wagged a fin slightly. "Also, I want to keep my status as your heir a secret for as long as possible, so..."

"No problem, how about I just introduce myself as your father and set up the excuse that the Don is too busy to enjoy the party? I'll spread the word to the sharks and orcas." Ercole offered.

"Sounds great." Lenny grinned; he then turned to leave...

"Wait a minute, when are you going to tell her the truth?" Ercole asked.

"Huh? Oh, I figured I'd wait until I'm more than sure that she's the one for me." Lenny replied. "If she isn't then I'll tell her my real status and explain to her why I kept it a secret. It then won't matter whether she dumps me or not for lying to her."

"And if she is?" Ercole raised an eyebrow - or at least the shark equivalent.

"Then..." Lenny blushed again and hung his head a little. "Then I'll tell her, explain to her why I kept it a secret, and most likely end with a proposal."

"But, what if she turns you down for lying to her?" Ercole looked sympathetic, realizing that Lenny was taking a big risk.

"I'll apologize for hurting her and continue being sincere with my feelings." Lenny explained. "And if she doesn't forgive me...well, I'm afraid I haven't thought that far."

Ercole was silent for a couple minutes, knowing how sensitive Lenny was about not being accepted. Heck, Lenny ran away and disguised himself as a dolphin just because he personally wouldn't accept Lenny for being a vegetarian. Funny how it took a reef fish to open his eyes to how foolish he was about Lenny. Now Ercole knows that Lenny's gentleness is worth as much as Frankie's toughness was, for the most important thing is that they stick together as family.

"Son," Ercole finally said. "If she is the one for you she'll forgive you. If not right away, then soon."

Lenny smiled.

"Thanks pop. Come on, I want you to meet her."

Lenny led Ercole outside, and introductions were made between him and Carina. They liked each other right away, and since Ercole didn't even seem to notice her braces Carina guessed that Lenny warned him about that. Later, they swam towards the reef part of the South Side and Carina asked him about that.

"Yeah, I wanted to prevent him from unintentionally saying anything hurtful." Lenny explained. "Fortunately, it wasn't even necessary. Dad at first assumed that the braces were from an accident, but upon hearing the truth he just shrugged it off. Turns out he was more concerned about whether you had been hurt, and since you're a vegetarian the whole braces thing doesn't matter as much."

Carina smiled, glad to know another shark who didn't care about her braces.

The tour started with the Whale Wash due to Oscar and Angie needing to get back to work. Lenny showed Carina around the place, introduced her to Sykes, and then went back to his volunteer job as a whale washer. Carina stayed with Sykes to continue talking with him. Sykes was extremely grateful to meet another vegetarian shark, for sharks used to scare the quills out of him...the 'sticking out' type of 'out' of course. Carina then went to watch Lenny work, and enjoyed the scene due to Lenny having fun. Oscar, who had been promoted to back scrubber along with being one of the managers, was having a lot of fun too. Soon everyone was laughing, and Carina enjoyed the scene so much that she decided to join Lenny. Lenny looked at her with amazement, and took her fin to show her the proper movements. Carina slowly copied them, until she got the hang of it. Soon, it looked as if Lenny and Carina were dancing.

After work, Oscar swam to Carina.

"Say, those weren't some bad dance-like moves back there." Oscar smiled.

"Oh, well, I was just copying Lenny's." Carina shrugged humbly. "Truthfully I still have a lot to learn when it comes to dancing."

"Well you're in luck, because Club Oscar is now open!" Oscar said as he turned the Whale Wash sign around so that it read 'Club Oscar'.

"Club Oscar? Oh right, that's that club you guys told me about." Carina remembered.

"Yup, and the great thing about it is that anyone can join regardless of how they dance." Angie smiled. "So those who still want to learn a few moves can come here to learn them."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Carina cried excitedly, swimming back inside.

The place was quickly set up, and it was less than five minutes before everyone was dancing. Oscar and Angie of course paired up, but now and then Oscar would go over to Carina to teach her a few moves. Soon Carina, who was a fast learner, was dancing with Lenny, leaving Oscar free for the rest of the night to be with Angie. Eventually, the girl sharks showed up, led by the physically prettiest shark: Benedetta. She, like Adolfo, was the most popular shark in high school, and in fact during high school used to pursue Frankie. Fortunately, even though Frankie used brawn more than brains he was still smart enough to realize her intentions and turned her down. After his death, she was disappointed because now she realized that she had to switch her affections to Lenny, who she considered as attractive as Adolfo found Carina.

A.N. Benedetta is feminine for Benedict, which means blessed. This is not only a reference to how her parents and some guy sharks view her, but also a reference to her personality (a female Benedict Arnold you might say).

When Benedetta saw Lenny dancing with Carina, she dropped her mouth open in shock. Angry and jealous, she started to swim over there, the other female sharks following her.

Lenny and Carina, meanwhile, were so caught up in the dancing that they forgot about everyone else. Lenny actually felt ready to admit his feelings for Carina then, but Benedetta immediately cut in and started dancing with him before he could even open his mouth.

"Hey!" Lenny protested.

Startled, the dancing stopped, as well as the music. Everyone started at Lenny and Benedetta.

"Excuse me but we were dancing, it was very rude of you to cut in like that." Carina frowned.

"Who said that?" Benedetta looked around, obviously pretending to not notice Carina out of spite.

"Carina." Lenny glared. "My friend and permanent dancing partner."

"'Permanent'?" Benedetta scoffed. "Please, why would you dance with a nobody like her when you could dance with a somebody like me?"

"Oh yeah, you're a somebody..." Lenny scoffed back. "Somebody who's going to leave before I contact the hit-sharks!"

Benedetta froze, never having been spoken to like that before. Her entourage gasped, shocked and confused. Carina, however, just smirked and swam into the scene. It was time to prove that she was as good at defending others as Lenny is.

"And for your information this club is for somebodies, so considering that you're being kicked out..." Carina smirked.

"Oh please, you really think you're a somebody?" Benedetta tossed her head.

"Well, I do know that I'd rather be a kind nobody than a cruel somebody." Carina crossed her fins.

"And in our opinion," Lenny added, sweeping a fin among the reef fish. "Anyone who is kind is a somebody and anyone who is cruel like you is a nobody."

"Yeah man, that's so right." Oscar agreed, swimming up to Lenny. "Sorry miss, but you and your friends will have to leave. This is a strict 'no impolite cuts' zone and you already crossed the line."

"Fine, but I'm not through with you two." Benedetta glared at Lenny and Carina.

Benedetta and her entourage left in a huff. As for the others, they just shrugged off the incident and went back to dancing.

"That's right." Benedetta said to herself coldly. "You enjoy your little dance with him now, but mark my words Lenny will be mine, and I will be the next Donna of the South Side."

Days passed with no more from Benedetta and her entourage, apart from a passing glare or shun, so Lenny and Carina pretty much forgot about her.

A couple weeks passed, and the party Ercole Lino promised to set up was now nearly complete. Lino's both-hand man - er - octopus Luca took care of the catering, while Lenny helped Oscar with the music. While they wanted to put in plenty of dance tunes some classical music and other mob-favorite genres had to be added in as well. Angie helped the hit-sharks' wives with getting the decorations, while Ercole supervised the cleaning and decorating. Not only that, but he also made sure that the ballroom would have its balcony doors unlocked so that Lenny would have a private place to tell Carina his feelings.

The dance started off without a hitch, especially since Benedetta and her entourage weren't invited. That is, except for the members of the entourage who were invited by male shark guests. Many male sharks tried to get Benedetta to go with them, but she refused. After many hours, Lenny decided that he couldn't wait any longer, and led Carina out onto the balcony. Only Ercole, Oscar, and Angie noticed this, and knew what was going to happen. Oscar and Angie knew because Lenny and Carina, respectively, told them about their secret feelings for each other. Oscar was very supportive of Lenny, and encouraged him to tell Carina as soon as possible. Angie was also supportive, and suggested to Carina that if she was too nervous to admit her feelings then she should wait until Lenny admitted his. Carina, however, turned out to be braver than even she expected.

"Isn't this a beautiful night?" Carina sighed.

"Not as beautiful as you." Lenny admitted.

Carina blushed heavily, she had never been complimented this much by anyone outside the family before.

"Lenny (Carina)-" Carina and Lenny both said at the same time.

"You first-" They both said again.

They laughed for a bit, and then Lenny spoke up:

"Ladies first."

Carina took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Lenny, there's something I have to tell you." Carina began.

"What's that?" Lenny cocked his head.

"I-I have fallen in love with you." Carina admitted.

Lenny's heart soared.

"Carina, I love you back." Lenny smiled.

Now Carina's heart soared.

They both held fins, and leaned closer to each other. Soon, they kissed. They kissed for so long that Oscar, Angie, and Ercole actually started to get a bit worried. No need, Lenny and Carina eventually stopped kissing and swam back inside to tell everyone the good news:

"Everyone, Carina and I are dating." Lenny smiled, a fin around Carina.

Everyone cheered and congratulated the new couple. Ercole hugged Lenny, and congratulated Carina for winning his son's love. No guesses what Oscar did: the Oscar fin-shake. He did it with both Lenny and Carina, who had already learned it over the past week. Angie, emotional, congratulated them both but had to hug them one at a time due to the size difference. The party continued on even better than before, with no one knowing that there was an eavesdropper outside.

"What?" Benedetta gasped to herself. "How could he date a loser like that? Looks like I'll have to come up with a big plan to get Lenny away from her."


	6. Something There', But Also a Nobody

A week had past and Lenny and Carina continued hanging out as before, except this time they were official dates. Carina already sent word back to her father, who was ecstatic and allowed Carina to stay as long as she wanted. This meant that it was the fifth week of Carina's visit when Benedetta retaliated...

Carina, feeling more beautiful than she ever felt before due to Lenny's love, decided to treat her self to a spa and makeover. This ended up causing her to meet up with Benedetta and her entourage at the mall.

"Well, if it isn't metal mouth." Benedetta jeered.

"'Metal mouth'? Oh like that's creative." Carina rolled her eyes.

"You think you can come up with something better?" Benedetta chuckled cruelly.

"Of course I can...soup brain." Carina retorted.

Benedetta actually gasped. After all, there were few things all sharks hated more than the reminder of shark fin soup.

"Why you...you're lucky we're in a crowded area, otherwise you'd pay for that." Benedetta almost growled.

"Believe me I'm grateful, I wouldn't want your dad to force me into paying your hospital bill." Carina put a fin on her hip.

"Ha, think you're so tough?" Benedetta scorned.

"Well I may be a cartilage-based animal, but I'm not spineless." Carina smirked.

"But you certainly are beauty-less." Benedetta smirked.

"That's just your opinion." Carina started to swim away with a shun.

"Oh no it's not," Benedetta caught up and stood in front of Carina. "Do you honestly think that Lenny loves you?"

"What are you talking about?" Carina rolled her eyes again, uninterested.

"He's just using you to make sure that I truly love him." Benedetta lied. "He actually loves me, we're even practically engaged."

"Oh please..." Carina started to dismiss.

"It's true." A member of Benedetta's entourage spoke up.

"Yup, trust me after a few days he'll just dump you like a rock that's hurting his back." Benedetta continued lying. "You'd better dump him first before he hurts you. I mean come on, do you honestly think that anyone could love you? Your teeth are useless, you're overweight, and you honestly could stand to use a makeover. I'll bet that back in high school you didn't even have a friend, am I right? No one would want to be friends with a useless little blob like you..."

Carina suddenly punched Benedetta right in the mouth, causing her to fall over!

"You shut up!" Carina snapped. "You honestly think I'm going to listen to you when you never showed me any kindness while Lenny showed me more kindness in eight weeks than I've known the rest of my live? You're wrong, I'm not a useless little blob, but that's an accurate description for both your brain and your heart!"

With that, Carina swam away, her nose in the air. Benedetta, embarrassed due to everyone nearby in the mall staring at her, merely got up and left with her nose in the air, trying to save what little dignity she had left. Now, while you may cheer Carina for snapping at Benedetta, don't be too happy about it. You see, Benedetta realized that day that words were never going to get to Carina...meaning that she would have to resort to physical methods. And, at the West Side, someone else was thinking the same thing...

Anyway, as for Carina she was still ticked off about Benedetta's cruelty but even though she wasn't going to believe her, some of what she said did affect Carina. Namely, she was going to skip the makeover. Carina realized that she didn't need to look beautiful at all, she just had to feel good about herself. So, she merely stuck with the spa, the results being that she felt like a model. Benedetta's words had another effect on Carina, but a positive one: Carina fully realized that Lenny is the one for her. After she stood up for herself she thought back to all the fun times she and Lenny had...and then thought back to the kiss. That memory instantly melted away her anger, and made her realize that she loved Lenny more than anything or anyone else in the world. With that, she decided to get a special outfit and some nice accessories, for she had a feeling that sometime in the future both her and Lenny's lives were going to come to a big change.

_Two months later..._

Lenny and Carina continued being deeply in love, and believed that they were meant to be together, which of course is true. And since Lenny still had to put up with flirting female sharks despite his dating Carina, he decided that the time had come to propose to Carina. Even though they had only known each other for about four months Lenny felt that it was right, plus they could just have a long engagement anyway. However, he knew that if he was going to propose, then he would also have to tell Carina the truth about his status. He decided to double check with his dad on it.

"Hey dad? Can I come in?" Lenny hesitated at the doorway of Ercole's office, not wanting to disturb his dad from important work.

"Of course Lenny, anything wrong?" Ercole got up from his desk slightly concerned.

"No - I just wanted to double check with you on something."

"What is it?"

"I-I've been thinking of proposing to Carina." Lenny rubbed the back of his neck.

Ercole didn't say anything, though he looked a little stunned.

"Dad?" Lenny cocked his head.

"Um, I do support you and Carina ending up together, but are you sure it's not too early?" Ercole asked, not wanting Lenny to rush too much into things.

"Yes I'm sure, it doesn't feel early at all." Lenny nodded. "I'm so in love with Carina that I can't imagine living without her, plus I feel incomplete when I'm apart from her. Also, many days ago I started to feel bad for continuing to keep my status a secret, so I'm going to tell her the truth first anyway. If she forgives me, then that's confirmation that we're meant to be together. If she never forgives me, then I'll have to look for someone else."

Ercole smiled.

"Well, if you feel that way, then you have my blessing. Keep in mind that her father may not approve of this happening so soon though."

"That's okay, I'll wait as long as he wants for the actual wedding. It's Carina's answer that I care most about." Lenny shrugged.

Ercole nodded to show that he approved, and they said their good-byes before Lenny left. He swam through the South Side, searching for Carina. He finally found her outside a cafe having smoothies with Angie. Which brings to what Carina and Angie were doing while Lenny was talking with Ercole...

Carina and Angie decided to have a girls' day out so that Oscar can enjoy some time with Sykes, Crazy Joe, and the Shorties. They swam through some stores before their smoothie, and talked:

"Say Angie, how long do you think you should know a guy before - er - marrying him?" Carina asked awkwardly.

"Well, I recommend at least a couple years...whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you thinking of marrying Lenny?" Angie asked in a loud whisper.

"Yeah, I have been kinda daydreaming about it for about month." Carina blushed.

"But you've only known each other for four months." Angie pointed out.

"I know, but I feel like I've known him all my life."

Carina then told her about the incident she had with Benedetta at the mall a couple months ago.

"After I stood up for myself I realized how much Lenny and I really love each other, and I also realized that I love him more than life itself." Carina finished.

Angie thought this over.

"Well, even though I don't greatly approve of the timing, I do have to admit that yours and Lenny's love is too strong to ignore." Angie smiled.

At this point they both realized that they were thirsty, and so went to get their smoothie. A few minutes after that Lenny arrived.

"Ah, there you are Carina I've been looking all over for you." Lenny smiled, sitting down to catch his breath.

"Really?" Carina looked confused.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me in the main dining room on the Titanic." Lenny explained. "I believe I can get a reservation from the Don, he and dad are pretty close."

"Wow, you mean the dining room where the highest ranking mob sharks hang out? I'd love too!" Carina looked excited, after all she had never been in another Don's dining room before. "Not as much as I love you though." She then smiled, kissing Lenny on the cheek.

Lenny grinned, lovestruck.

"I know the feeling." He smiled back. "Does seven o'clock work for you?"

"Seven o'clock is perfect." Carina smiled.

"Wonderful, I'll go ask the Don about that reservation." Lenny got up and started to leave. "Meet me in front of the dining room, if the reservation doesn't work out then we'll just go to the best restaurant in town."

"Okay, see you then!" Carina waved back.

"Sounds like you have some shopping to do." Angie smiled.

"Nah, I already got my outfit." Carina dismissed with a wave of her fin. "I had a feeling this was going to happen eventually."

Angie gasped.

"You mean he's going to propose?" Angie looked slightly surprised, she didn't know Lenny was as ready as Carina to get married.

"That's what I'm hoping." Carina grinned.

Despite being excited about the date, deep down Carina was a little worried. She knew the time had come to tell Lenny the truth about her status, and she was a little scared that Lenny wouldn't want to marry her for lying to him.


	7. An Amusing Proposal

That night, Lenny was waiting near the entrance of the restaurant, dressed in a tux coat with a bow tie. Of course he knew that he would be able to get into the restaurant, he, Frankie, and their dad were the only ones who didn't even need a reservation. Pretty soon Carina showed up, dressed in her new outfit. Lenny was stunned, she was wearing a sleeveless green silk dress with red coral earrings shaped like hearts.

"Wow, I thought you couldn't be any more beautiful but you just proved me wrong." Lenny smiled.

"Flatterer." Carina poked him teasingly. "You look very handsome too."

"Thanks." Lenny rubbed the back of his head before offering his arm. "Shall we go in?"

"Of course." Carina took his arm.

They swam inside, went to the Lino's usual table, ordered their meals, and when their meals arrived they began to eat. When they were done eating and waiting to order dessert, Lenny decided it was time to tell Carina the truth.

"Carina, even though we've only known each other for four months I feel like it's time to discuss the future." Lenny began.

Carina smiled, trying to contain her excitement.

"I feel the same way." She smiled back.

This helped with Lenny's confidence, but also made him more nervous about telling her the truth.

"That's good, because I have an important question to ask you." Lenny smiled, trying to contain his nervousness.

"Yes?" Carina said hopefully.

"Can you handle being a Don's wife?" Lenny asked.

Carina paused, extremely confused.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Carina said, about to take a sip of wine.

"The truth is Carina, my dad is not the Don's hit-shark, but the Don himself. I'm the son of a Don." Lenny admitted.

Carina did a spit take, spraying wine all over the table and a little on Lenny. The other sharks, especially the waiters, turned towards them startled.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean..." Carina quickly apologized.

"No it's my fault, I should've waited until you were done drinking." Lenny interrupted, wiping himself off.

After they wiped the table off, the conversation switched back to Lenny's confession.

"Y-you're the son of a Don?" Carina was shocked.

"Yeah...I would've told you sooner but I wanted someone to love me for me instead of my status..." Lenny stopped, because to his surprise Carina looked amused. "What is it?"

"Lenny, you're not the only one who has been keeping a secret." Carina chuckled.

"You mean you have a secret too?" Lenny's eyes widened.

"Yes, my secret is that I'm the daughter of a Don, my dad is the Don not the Don's hit-shark." Carina tried not to laugh.

Lenny's jaw dropped open so much that Carina almost expected it to hit the table. Carina continued trying hard not to laugh, but failed and cracked up. Lenny got over his shock and joined her, and soon both were doubled over in laughter. The other sharks in the restaurant continued staring at Lenny and Carina, and then turned to one another, shrugged, and went back to their own meals and conversations.

"So you've been having problems with sharks who only liked you for your status too?" Lenny guessed once they had both calmed down.

"Oh yeah, not as much as you but enough to drive me crazy." Carina nodded; then she remembered something: "Adolfo included, that must've been why he kissed me in the alley all those weeks ago. He must've been trying to discourage you from ending up with me."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't work." Lenny smiled.

"Me too." Carina smiled back.

They then scooted closer together and kissed for a second.

"Wait a minute...earlier you asked if I could handle being a Don's wife. Was that a proposal?" Carina asked hopefully.

Lenny just smiled and brought out a ring box from under the table.

"Does this answer your question?" Lenny opened the box, revealing a diamond engagement fin-ring.

"Yes." Carina smiled, looking emotional.

"So, will you...?" Lenny started to ask.

"I already answered you silly." Carina giggled. "Yes I'll marry you."

Lenny, ecstatic, slipped the fin-ring onto Carina's fin. They then kissed again, but this time it was for a minute. Afterward, they ordered dessert (it was a busy night at the restaurant) and discussed the wedding plans. Oscar of course was to be the Best Man, while Angie was to be the bridesmaid/flower girl (neither of them knew anyone younger). Carina's kid brother Mozart was to be the fin-ring bearer of course. After dessert, they went to Ercole to tell him the good news. Ercole of course was ecstatic, and suggested that they leave the next day to tell Carina's father Alfonso. Lenny first wanted to tell Sykes, Angie, and especially Oscar, so he offered for them to leave for the West Side the day after tomorrow. Ercole agreed.

The next day, Sykes, Angie and Oscar were excited about the news, and congratulated the couple. However, there was one who was furious about the engagement...

The following day, Lenny and Carina left for the West Side to tell Alfonso the good news. Alfonso and Mozart were both happy for the couple, though only Mozart showed his excitement. Alfonso decided that he and Mozart should go back to the South Side with Lenny and Carina to meet Don Lino and make it easier for all of them to discuss the wedding. There was someone at the West Side who also heard the good news, but that someone was as furious as the one from the South Side...

Days passed as the wedding was being prepared. It of course was to take place aboard the Titanic, inside the ballroom. Lenny, Carina, and the others all got their outfits ready. Oscar and Lenny went for simple yet appropriate tuxes, since they weren't the formal type. Angie picked out a plain lavender gown to compliment her colors without competing with Carina's wedding dress. Carina went for the traditional dress, simple yet elegant, with lace trim on the top and blue embroidery shaped like seashells on the skirt. Her veil was also lace, but was short and only went down the back, and rested on her head with a seashell wreath.


	8. The Mob', But Not of Sharks

One day, Lenny got a note from Carina asking him to meet her at the ship wrecks, where many ships over the years have gathered after sinking. Strangely, at the same time Carina got a note from Lenny asking her to meet him at the same ship wrecks. Neither of them got that something was wrong until...

"So, what did you want to see me about here?" Lenny asked when he and Carina met up at the ship wrecks.

Carina stared at him.

"I thought you wanted to see me here." She frowned, confused.

"Well I got this note..." Lenny held up the note.

"So did I..." Carina held up the note she got.

They both started to look worried.

"Lenny, I think we've both been tricked." Carina realized.

"Yeah, but by who?" Lenny scratched his head.

An anchor suddenly fell near them! They both jumped into each others arms scared. Lenny, realizing something, looked up and tapped Carina on the shoulder. She looked at him, and then followed his gaze to find out what was wrong: there was a whole mess of anchors above them! Lenny and Carina immediately started swimming away as the anchors started falling after them. Unfortunately, the incident was reminding Lenny of Frankie's death, causing him to lose sense of the current situation and slow down. Carina, noticing, tried to get his attention. When that didn't work, she resorted to pushing him along, but then noticed that there was one more anchor right above them and following! She knocked Lenny aside as the anchor fell! Slamming in to the ground woke Lenny up, and he turned around to find Carina under the anchor!

"NOO!" Lenny cried, swimming over.

Fortunately, the anchor only got Carina's tail, so Lenny grabbed the anchor and tossed it aside. He then went over to Carina.

"Carina?" He said nervously.

"I'm okay, except I think my tail is broken." Carina said. "Are you okay? You looked freaked out back there."

"That..." Lenny started to sob. "That was because I kept thinking about Frankie."

Carina, remembering the story of Frankie's death, looked at him sympathetically. It was obvious that Frankie's death had continued affecting Lenny even after he had stopped blaming himself.

"I think we'd better get out of here." Carina suggested.

"Right." Lenny nodded.

He gently picked her up, since she couldn't swim with a broken tail, and started to swim away.

"Wait a minute..." Lenny muttered, getting an idea.

He quickly hid them by a ship, and they looked out to where the anchors had fallen. They suddenly saw Adolfo and Benedetta arguing! Since they were yelling at each other at the same time it was hard to understand either of them, but Lenny and Carina understandably guessed that Adolfo was trying to kill Lenny and Benedetta was trying to kill Carina and they were angry at each other about it. After some more yelling, Adolfo and Benedetta surprisingly kissed! Lenny and Carina dropped their mouths opened, and Adolfo and Benedetta looked no less surprised. They then kissed again, and it became apparent that their similar personalities subconsciously attracted them to each other. Lenny and Carina, getting over the shock, smiled because they realized that if Adolfo and Benedetta ended up together then they would leave Lenny and Carina alone. Speaking of leaving alone, Lenny and Carina decided to head back to the Titanic so that Carina could get her tail treated.

It didn't take long for Ercole and Alfonso to hear what had happened, and they quickly met Lenny near the doctor's office. Carina was already inside getting her tail in a cast. Alfonso was furious, but controlled his temper so as not to make Ercole angry. This still didn't prevent him from glaring at Lenny.

"I thought you loved my daughter, and yet you didn't protect her from the anchors?" Alfonso glared angrily. "You should be ashamed of yourself..."

"Hey!" Ercole protested. "Alfonso go easy on him!"

"Why should I?" Alfonso crossed his arms angrily.

"Because his brother was killed by an anchor!" Ercole snapped.

Alfonso's frown melted, turning into an expression of shock and sympathy.

"Is this true?" Alfonso asked Lenny, this time with a gentle tone.

Lenny nodded sadly, looking ready to cry.

"It's true." Ercole confirmed. "His brother, my son Frankie, was out teaching him how to hunt. This was back when I didn't accept Lenny for who he is. When Lenny faked eating a fish, Frankie became angry and went after the fish himself. That's when an anchor fell on him, killing him. Lenny has felt bad about the incident ever since. He first felt guilty because he blamed himself. He doesn't anymore, but he's still hurting badly because even though Frankie made fun of him most of the time Lenny loved him. That was the one thing I should've appreciated about Lenny from the beginning: his huge heart."

"Yeah, I mean his last word to me was his calling me 'moron' and yet I didn't even become offended by that. I was too upset about his death." Lenny sobbed before breaking down and crying into his fins. "You're right Don Scuro I should've protected her but I was too traumatized by the memory of Frankie's death. I'm so sorry, I never meant for her to get hurt, I wish it was me who got hit by the anchor. If you want to cancel the wedding I'll understand, Carina deserves someone who can protect her..."

Alfonso felt bad for yelling at Lenny, and comfortingly placed a fin around Lenny's shoulder.

"*Shh*, Lenny, it's okay." Alfonso said gently. "It wasn't your fault, I was just mad about her being hurt. And you can still call me Alfonso, heck you can call me dad even."

Lenny started to stop crying.

"You mean...you mean Carina and I can still get married?" He asked, trying to calm down.

"Of course, the only thing more important than being able to protect someone is being able to love them. And you obviously love Carina a lot."

"Yes, I...I love her more than life itself." Lenny admitted.

"That settles it then, the wedding will still take place...it just will have to be postponed until Carina's tail has healed."

"Of course." Ercole nodded.

The doctor then came out of his office.

"Carina has settled in comfortably if you want to see her now. Not too long though she still needs her rest." The doctor smiled.

Ercole, Alfonso, and Lenny nodded and swam into the office. Carina was resting on one of the beds, her tail in a cast and resting in a sling suspended from the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" Alfonso asked, concerned.

"Great, I just regret the wedding being postponed." Carina grinned before frowning. "I obviously can't swim down the aisle in this condition."

"I'm just relieved you're alive." Lenny sat down next to her. "When I saw you under the anchor I thought I lost you. Thank you, by the way, for saving my life."

"Of course, I do love you more than life itself." Carina smiled.

"That's how much I love you." Lenny smiled back.

They kissed.

Ercole and Alfonso stayed for a while to talk with Carina and express their sympathies, and for Ercole to thank her for saving Lenny. They then left, but Lenny stayed behind vowing not to leave her until she had healed. That took a few weeks, and after Carina had healed the wedding went on as planned. Alfonso and Ercole talked about getting revenge on Adolfo and Benedetta after the wedding, but Lenny and Carina told them about Adolfo and Benedetta becoming attracted to each other. Sure enough, Adolfo and Benedetta did end up together, so Ercole and Alfonso decided to leave them alone.


	9. The Second Wedding

The wedding was as magical as it could be, at least for a non-fairytale world. The vows were similar to human vows, except altered to fit sharks (for example, instead of 'man and wife' it was 'shark and wife'...you know, since 'man' is part of 'human'). Since Carina moved in with Lenny as Donna of the South Side Mozart was to become the Don of the West Side. Ercole had stepped down a year after they got married, to allow them a honeymoon and a chance to settle in. For the honeymoon Lenny and Carina explored European reefs, mostly near Italy and France.

The following year, Oscar and Angie had a fry who they named Iris, which is the goddess name for rainbow (fitting, since Iris had a combination of her parents' colors). The year after, Lenny and Carina had a pup named Tulio, which means lively in Italian. This was because Tulio was very active not long after being born. Tulio later turned out to be a vegetarian like his parents, and became best friends with Iris. Interestingly, by the time he was a teenager Lenny and Carina realized that he wasn't going to be 'non-popular looking' like they were. Fortunately, he also had inherited their wisdom, preventing him from dating the wrong girls. Eventually, he too would become Don, and would turn out to be a Don that would make his parents and grandfathers proud.

Oh, and Adolfo and Benedetta? They had a daughter named Clara who tried to win Tulio, but had as much luck as her parents did with Lenny and Carina. Interestingly, by seeing Tulio's generous and kindhearted personality Clara ended up reforming, but still didn't end up with Tulio. Instead she found someone else, and the two of them eventually became good friends of Tulio. Clara's husband even became one of Tulio's hit-sharks.


End file.
